Battlewheels [Atari Jaguar – Unreleased]

Battlewheels [Atari Jaguar – Unreleased]

Battlewheels was a misterious project: the only image that remains is directly pulled from the Atari Jaguar box. It should have been released in stores in Q3 1995, but it vanished before being finished. Battlewheels should have been an upgraded remake of the atari lynx game with the same name, with a new 8 players multiplayer mode.

As Adam has wrote in the comments, Beyond Games has told people in the Jaguar community that they got as far as making some 3D models for the game but it was so early into the development phase when it was cancelled that they didn’t get any further than that.

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27 thoughts on “Battlewheels [Atari Jaguar – Unreleased]”

The used image of the game is directly pulled from the Atari Jaguar box. game should have been an upgrade from the atari lynx version of the game. The Battlewheels game was intended to have 8 player mutiplayer action and should have been in stores Q3 1995.

Just something to add on this one: Beyond Games has told people in the Jaguar community that they got as far as making some 3D models for the game but it was so early into the development phase when it was cancelled that they didn’t get any further than that

I think it stands to reason this project evolved into Beyond’s 1999 post-apocalyptic FPS\Driving game Redline. Interestingly It would seem Carmack may have been slightly influenced by the aforesaid game for Rage

Mixed feelings as the Lynx original was superb and Jaguar hardware seemed ideally suited for an upgraded version, but then i love at what the Jaguar versions of Ch.Flag (ok, went with name only) and Blue Lightning turned out like and how Toki was shaping up and i’d of just hated to see another dissapointing upgrade.

Maybe Beyond could have really done the game and indeed hardware, justice, maybe not, but it’s sadly just another in a long, long line of games that was abandoned so early on, it’ll simply be just another footnote in the Jaguar’s history of what might of been.

Even as late as March’95 Beyond Games were telling the press they still had’nt figured exactly what they planned for the game and something else which they then could’nt talk about, had ‘come down the pipeline’ and plans for Battlewheels might take a 180 degree turn.

I guess the ‘something else’ was AVP 2, which they’ve been quoted as saying they WERE working on and hoped would sustain any success gained from Ultra Vortex.

As a then day-1 Jaguar owner, i’ve followed the path of so many of these ‘annouced’ Jaguar games along some very rocky and twisted roads.You’ve had the majority of the information found either emailed directly to you or posted up on here, be they from interviews/email contact i myself have carried out or those i’ve found, but there’s still more to come and it’ll be direct from the source.

2 sources from Beyond confirmed at the time that once the Jaguar version of Ultra Vortex was finished, they would most likely port it to the 3DO adding FMV sequences and more music as game had luxury of being on CD.

As for the games poor review scores:

They’d add FMV sequences and more music due to game being on CD.

As for game getting poor review scores:

The Atari project manager in charge of the game claimed magazines like Edge (3/10 ) Ultimate Future Games (21%) Gamesmaster (33%)

I’ve seen claims that when Beyond Games annouced Atari had dropped contract negotiations with them for Jaguar AVP II, they let slip Atari had never been that responsive to proposals for BattleWheels on the Jaguar.

An executive from Beyond Games responded to fears that the Jaguar version of BattleWheels wouldn’t appear until the PC version was finished and even then only if the Jaguar user base was large enough, by simply saying Beyond had not been in negotiations with Atari for some time and BattleWheels PC/Playstation was currently under development….

Jun. 23–Kris Johnson hoped the first game produced by his company, Beyond Games of Salt Lake City, would propel him into the competitive video market.

But he soon discovered how brutal the video-game business can be. Johnson, 28, and friends spent countless hours making “Battle Wheels” for Atari’s hand-held Lynx system. The machine was discontinued shortly after “Battle Wheels” hit store shelves.

“We got no exposure,” Johnson chuckled. “That machine had been out two years, and they phased it out right when we released the game.”

Now, Johnson and his crew are about to release “Ultra Vortex” for Atari’s Jaguar system.

“Ultra Vortex may not be a blockbuster,” Johnson said. “But it will definitely be a decent seller.”

It’s the dream of every small game manufacturer: produce a unique game, get a big company such as Sega or Nintendo to buy it and cash in on the voracious appetites of video-game buffs. In 1994, Americans spent $21 billion on video machines and games.

Many try, but few succeed, says Ron Johnson of Electro Brain Corp. in Salt Lake City.

It’s been six months since his company produced a game. The market is saturated, he said, and the only way to compete is to keep up with changes in technology. And that costs money.

“Only a few companies capture 80% of the video-game market,” said Johnson, no relation to the Beyond Games owner.

Two Utah firms that have made it big are Sculptured Software Inc. and Access Software, both of Salt Lake City. Sculptured converted the game program for the popular, ultra-violent “Mortal Kombat” games for Sega and Nintendo. Access stormed the market several years ago with the “Links” golf series and recently, the interactive personal computer game “Under a Killing Moon.”

“There are literally tens of thousands of products out there,” said Mindy Cook, Access Software’s marketing representative. “I am sorry for anyone trying to get into the market.”

Kelly Zmak, executive producer for Sculptured Software, said video-game manufacturers — especially small ones — cannot focus on past successes if they want to compete. The game industry, she said, is getting too expensive to be passive.

“It can cost $3 million to $5 million to produce one game,” Zmak said. “It’s not tough to get a single hit, but it is hard to be consistent.”

Beyond Games has spent nearly $100,000 to produce “Ultra Vortex.” Chris Johnson would not say how much Atari paid for the game, but said his crew should “have some fun” with the money.

“Ultra Vortex,” which took a year to make, will be shipped to Atari in four days and should be on the market in July or August, Johnson said. It will retail for $69.95.

The game is similar to “Mortal Kombat” and “Street Fighter” in that different characters battle each other to the death. To make their game unique, Beyond Games used 3-D computer renderings, stop-motion puppets and costumed adults to create the movements of warriors such as Grok, a rock monster, and Volcana, a woman who burns everything in her path.

Tim Huntsman of Beyond was asked for details on Jaguar Battlewheels in July 1994..his reply was:wait and see.

He was asked again in August 1994…this time replied Beyond were keeping details close to their chests..as they didn’t want to start vapourware rumours (that i can appreciate) and he was also honest enough to say Beyond hadn’t figured out how a lot of things were going to work..so there wasn’t anything to talk about.

He also made clear all LYNX development had stopped as soon as they received the JAGUAR development kits.

They were considering doing Mech Tiles on Jaguar as it was tempting with the 3D power the Jaguar offered.

It has come to our attention that someone has been spreading *nasty* rumors about us. Mainly that we are “Out Of Business”. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Yes folks, BGI is doing fine. As a matter of fact, we’re doing so well that we have expanded our staff and are in the process of expanding our office space. Here’s what you want to know; Ultra Vortex is STILL being developed in-house, by Beyond Games, in its entirity (that means box-art, sound, gameplay, *everything*) UV is several weeks away from entering production. The wait has been long, but IMOSHO, well worth it. Where are we at? BGI has several irons in the fire right now. We have started on BattleWheels 2025, an untitled 3-D platformer, and another title that I can’t divulge at this time, so don’t ask. We have also had offers to develop for other platforms; who knows what the future might bring? Have no fear, faithful Jaguarites, Beyond Games is here to stay!

For a company loathe to start Vapourware rumours, Beyond certainly created enough:

Then tell us about battlewheels or whatever you all are doing.

Our first release for the Jag will be Ultra Vortex tm. It is a fully digitized 2 player fighting game (shudders under the onslaught of wails and groans). Fully digitized meaning characters, backgrounds, sounds, music, ect. Those going to the summer CES in Chicago will be able to see the 80% completed version. There will be 10 or so characters (only 3 are ‘human’. The others are shape(form)shifters or cyber/robots). Game play will include some new features and ideas. If anyone has seen this months Video Games (formerly VG & CE) and see the new Atari 2 pg ad, you will see a ‘very’ early screen shot of the game.

Look for a FAQ to be posted on or around the time of the SCES for more info.

We will also be starting on MechTiles tm and a FRPG sometime in the next quarter.

Tim @ Beyond Games, Inc.

So, before U.V even finished company was talking about Jaguar Mechtiles, a 3D platformer, Battlewheels and a FRPG…

That’s even before you add later in talks to do AVP II and Major Havoc 2000.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to do with Battle Wheel’s. Depending on the availability of the Catbox, how we rethink BW’s for the Jag; ie straight shoot’em up, RGP, adventure-type, will determine how and what we do with BattleWheels.”

” Mechtiles tm is (will be) a Mech warrior type of game. (How’s that for a basic summation?) the FRPG (role playing game) will be just that, a role-playing game. I’m hesitant about releasing any info on it for fear of starting vaporware rumors.”

Tim @ BGI

Irony is that everything bar U.V on Jaguar turned out to be nothing but vaporware for Beyond.

Kris Johnson was trying to reach Owen Rubin with questions about the game logic involved with Major Havoc, which is a promising sign that they at least wanted to fully understand the original game before attempting a reboot.

On that subject,a good few years ago, Owen Rubin was looking for funding for a PC/Mac project with possible PlayStation 2 version, based loosely on Major Havoc.

A few people have inquired as to the status of BattleWheels for the Jaguar. As far as we know, this project is still on. We have been negotiating with Atari to develop this concurrently with the PC version. As soon as we hear some confirmation from them, we’ll be adding information on the Jag version to our web pages. BattleWheels would make an awesome display of the Jag’s capabilities, and we will continue to move it through the early stages of development. Thanks for the inquiries, and please keep the ideas, suggestions, etc. coming.

First, I’m sorry to report, there are no immediate plans to do BattleWheels for the Jag. However, a fully networked version of BattleWheels for the PC _is_ in the early stages of development. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it ported to the Jag after it’s released, but the PC version will come first.

Second, No final deal on AvPII has been struck. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to be doing it, but that it won’t get out of the planning stages until contracts are signed, etc. I’ll keep you posted.

…When Atari laid off a number of employees in November, IG ran a story indicating that Atari did not plan to contract out any new Jaguar games. In a subsequent interview with Don Thomas, Atari denied these allegations, saying that they intended to continue to contract out Jaguar games to outside companies. However, it now appears that in fact the original story was correct. Jeff Minter was quite possibly the most popular Jaguar developer, and other evidence indicates the likelihood that Atari had no plans to contract out another Jaguar project to Minter: High Voltage Software, who are responsible for White Men Can’t Jump, Vid Grid, NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, and Ruiner Pinball report that Atari has not contacted them regarding any further Jaguar projects. Moreover, Beyond Games, who coded Ultra Vortek, and were supposed to receive a contract for the sequel to the incredibly popular Alien vs. Predator, have stated that Atari has dropped the contract negotiations for that game, and have not been responsive to proposals for a conversion to the Jaguar of Beyond Games’ Lynx hit Battlewheels.

Clark Stacey retracting his earlier statements about Jaguar Battlewheels, he issued this statement in September 1995:

Clark Stacey Folks, I must apologize for an erroneous post not long ago. I said that Beyond Games is not currently developing BattleWheels for the Jag, just for the PC. This is incorrect. Both versions are being developed, and are scheduled for release next fall. Watch this space for the announcement of the Beyond Games Web site–featuring screen shots from Ultra Vortek, the making of the game, and currnet and future projects from Beyond Games! Clark Stacey

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